


summertime lovin lovin in the summer (time)

by CutiePi



Series: boundless potential (super hero au) [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, FE Rarepair Week (Summer 2018), Jealousy, Nonbinary Shigure, Not A Happy Ending, POV Multiple, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Trans Girl Forrest, as a side note the ocs are like... teeny weeny parts so don't even trip, but it will be continued! so it'll work out, i know this reads "super hero au" but uhhh its a beach ep there is practically 0 super hero-ing, look titles are rough ok, mostly Nina but Forrest gets a bit at the end, part 1 of a slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 13:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15486357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CutiePi/pseuds/CutiePi
Summary: A fun vacation turns into the friendship-ruining fight of the century. Ophelia makes friends; Nina gets sick; Forrest mediates.Written for FE Rarepair Week. Day 1: Sunshine





	summertime lovin lovin in the summer (time)

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy has this au been consuming my mind for ages  
> so this is a super powered au. except there's very little super-power stuff in this specific fic. this is the beach ep so uh yeah  
> please read the tags! but if you didnt heads up: forrest is a trans girl and shigure is nonbinary. i really dont want to discourse abt this but i cant control your life  
> i wrote most of this late at night. so we'll see how it goes huh

The whole situation is really just absurd.

One minute, everyone's minding their business—Nina is trying to multitask and probably failing, because the tasks are "play mind-numbing games on her phone" and "appear interested in whatever nerdy shit Ophelia's been spouting off since Forrest left for snacks or whatever"—and the next, they're all getting called down to the main hall so Shigure can explain that their freaky necklace-thing started pinging or something and they had to  _ all go somewhere _ and they should go pack.

"Someplace warm," Kiragi chirps, grinning, and oh, that's why Forrest took so long with snacks, she got sidetracked with the other team leaders with this teleporting-necklace shit.

"How long?" Midori asks, looking a bit twitchy. Probably didn't want to leave her workshop for more than the 6 hours she took daily to sleep.

Shigure shrugged. "Who can say? It's never clear."

Reina smiled serenely. "Us adults will stay and investigate whatever threat we must face here while you all go elsewhere for safekeeping." Nina tried not to shudder at the way she talked about them, like money in a bank vault.  _ Safekeeping _ .

"Pack a swimsuit!" Shiro burst, as if he'd been trying to hold back but finally couldn't take it anymore.

Long story short, that's how everyone ends up on the beach.

("Where  _ are _ we anyway?" Dwyer complained, probably annoyed that he couldn't keep up his goth look in 85-degree weather.

"I think the Caribbean?" Selkie replied, sniffing the air. "Or maybe South America."  _ Helpful _ .)

"You should at least try to have some fun." Nina starts and whips her head around to look at Forrest. She's seated on a lawn chair underneath an umbrella, looking regal and dignified and  _ perfect _ . "We've been here almost a week-"

"Five days," Nina mutters.

"-and you've done little but sit and mope. We're getting a free beach vacation. I can't believe you're not interested."

"I am!" she protests. She is. But seeing all the guys in their swimsuits is weirding her out for some reason, and she's suddenly been annoyed by how much more in-shape Caeldori and Sophie are than she is. "It's just… weird. I mean, I thought we didn't really trust Shigure's weird hell-magic? Like even  _ they _ don't trust it?"

"Don't call it that," Forrest scolds. "And the amulet is… strange, with many unknown properties. But they've been told that it always has their best interests at heart, so to speak, and we've yet to see any evidence to the contrary." She frowns, lowers her heart-shaped (annoyingly cute) sunglasses to hit Nina with the full force of her disapproval. "It sounds like you're just making excuses. What's really bugging you?"

"Oh, for god's- _ fine _ , I'll have fun, I'll show you  _ fun _ ." And Nina gets up and stomps away, like a mature, dignified person. Very great. Nailed it.

"My dearest compatriot!" Oh  _ Christ _ . "Nina, my sister-in-arms! My trusted ally!" Please stop. "Oh, stop running away from me!"  _ Tits _ .

"What's up, weirdo?"

"Okay, firstly,  _ rude _ ," Ophelia says, "and secondly, can't a young woman seek the companionship of a kindred spirit, a companion on the long walk of life-"

"You need a favor."

"Okay," Ophelia says, drawing out the word and flailing her arms a bit. Which is ultra-childish and not-at-all cute. "It's not. A favor, per se."

Nina raises an eyebrow, waits for the other shoe to drop.

"Look, all everyone wants to do here is sit around, or laze on the beach, or play very difficult and somewhat unfair water games-"

"How many times did Soleil beat you."

" _ Seven _ , and that's none of your concern. I just want," she waves a hand, searching for a word. Nina does not offer assistance. "Entertainment?" she tries, which is clearly the wrong answer because Nina turns around and starts walking away again. "Nonono wait!"

"If you want entertainment, watch some reality tv. I am  _ not _ your little plaything."

"I'm sorry! Nina, please wait, please forgive me, I didn't mean it!" Nina stops, and Ophelia bounces to a halt next to her. "If you want the  _ honest _ truth, my bracelet-" and she raises her right wrist to jingle that dumb fucking bracelet she never takes off, "-sent me a vision—as you know, the mystic gemstones in my bracelet are highly conductive to visions of the future-"

"I know," Nina says flatly. "Mystical gemstones that aren't just regular old  _ rocks _ ."

"They're not! And my vision showed that both of us would have wonderful luck if we stuck together! And I thought, perhaps spending more time together might be a good idea, and we might need that luck in the future, but also I was wondering if maybe we need this luck  _ now _ , so we better test it just in case?" She looks a bit nervous, and maybe apologetic, and somehow it flies right over Nina's head that her teammate might just want to.  _ Hang out with her _ . "I just thought we could have some fun! Do something exciting?" She probably keeps talking, but Nina's mind is stuck on the phrase  _ have some fun _ , and fuck you, Forrest, she can have  _ fun _ .

"Fine," she says abruptly, and Ophelia jumps.

"Really?"

"Yeah, all is forgiven, or whatever."

"Yes! Excellent!" She leans in conspiratorially. "This will be a union for the ages."

"Gross. Don't say it like that."

"Yes ma'am!"

\---

"I just don't understand."

Nina groans in frustration. "Look, I don't get it either, okay? Just shut up and go with it."

"But if you like these people, why don't you just talk to them?"

"That's not how it works!"

"Why not? They're just people!"

"Oh, whatever," Nina huffs, throwing her hands up. It wasn't like it was her choice to go to the stupid pier, anyway.  _ That _ was on Ophelia.

"I'm just trying to help! Your fear of talking to men seems to be negatively affecting your quality of life, and-"

"Okay," Nina says. "I'm gonna go get us some ice cream."

"Will you talk to them if I go with you?"

"Maybe, okay! Can I just get some damn ice cream or what?"

_ God _ , is Ophelia annoying. This whole stupid idea is because of her stupid bracelet and her stupid ice cream is so damn expensive-

But, because Nina is a  _ good person _ , who can  _ have fun _ on  _ vacation _ with her  _ friends _ , she gets ice cream and even buys Ophelia that weird sherbet she likes, and when she turns to meet up with her again she's moved.

She's moved to talk to  _ the guys _ .

Which is fine, because Nina said she might talk to them, if Ophelia went with her, and Ophelia's just such an outgoing person, and it's great, that Nina can make  _ more friends _ to  _ have fun with _ but-

Ophelia's  _ flirting _ . Or, at the very least, she's talking, all animated and smiley like she does, and the guys are grinning back, and then they all laugh, Ophelia throwing her head back and laughing in that genuine, sweet way she does, and she reaches out to touch on of them on the arm and  _ god is she flirting is she doing this on  _ **_purpose_ ** _? _ Nina feels heat rising in her cheeks and her stomach starts turning and she feels something—not tears, but something strong and angry—burning behind her eyes, and she wants to throw these  _ stupid, expensive _ ice cream cones on the dock, and she wants to scream, and she is so ridiculously upset because-

Because Ophelia  _ knew _ , didn't she, that Nina thought these dudes were hot, and she listened to Nina talk about what she thought was so attractive about them, and she'd said she would go  _ with _ Nina to talk to them, not go off and  _ flirt _ with them while Nina was fucking  _ buying her ice cream. _

One of them touches Ophelia's arm, now, and Nina thinks she's going to throw up. This is  _ absolute _ betrayal. She trusted Ophelia, told her about her weird  _ thing _ with guys, hung out with her on  _ her _ request, and this was-

She unfreezes all at once and stomps over to them, watching Ophelia light up at the sight of her and wave frantically, and she can barely hear her "Oh, there she is! Hey, Nina, look, I made friends!" over the blood rushing in her ears, god,  _ why is she so mad? _

"I got you your dumb ice cream," she mutters, thrusting the cone into Ophelia's hand.

"Aw, you remembered what kind I like! Isn't she so sweet?" she says, beaming, but  _ too little too late _ , all three guys are clearly  _ enamored _ , god, why was this happening, why-

"So this is my friend, Nina, and Nina, these are-"

"I think we should head back," Nina says flatly. Anything to get away from these weird dudes and their  _ appreciative glances _ .

"Aw, really? We only just got here-"

"I don't feel well," Nina tries, gritting her teeth.  _ God _ , with her dumb, clueless smile and that little wrinkle in her forehead that means she's worried-

"Well, if she's not feeling well, maybe you could come over with us to that spot we were telling you about?" one of the guys says, eyes locked on Ophelia,  _ ugh _ .

"Oh, where you found all those shells? It sounds lovely! But, Nina, are you sure you're all right? If you're not feeling well I can-"

"Nope," she says, and her voice is too loud, she thinks, why is she talking so loud? "Just go. Collect seashells. Sounds great." Ophelia is frowning now, biting her lip. "I'll be fine," she continues, loudly. "Seriously, go.  _ Have fun _ ."

She wonders if her anger is seeping into her voice; it must be, because Ophelia looks upset now. "Fine," she says shortly. "I'll see you later."

She barely gets the words out before Nina retreats.

\---

It does not take long for Forrest to get fed up.

She doesn't mind the occasional mope. Every teen needs something to angst about, as her father so masterfully put it, and her companions had more to be emo about (as her dad tended to phrase it) than most. If one of them was grouchier than usual, if they got into a funk, if trauma was surfacing with a vengeance, Forrest is happy to cut them some slack. But this?

Nina has been moping for three days since she and Ophelia met those boys by the pier. When Ophelia had returned hours after Nina carting a bucket of seashells and a wealth of information about the other boys, Nina's whole face had screwed up and she looked away. The next day, when Ophelia returned after half a day away with their numbers, Nina had looked punchy.

This afternoon, Ophelia showed up dragging one of the boys with them, and Nina had looked like a cross between a kicked puppy and a boxer on a losing streak—small, hurt, but ready to enact some violent revenge.

Now, Forrest is hit with déjà vu as she sits in a lawn chair, frowning at Nina, who is sitting on a beach towel next to her with her knees pulled up to her chest, the both of them hiding from the sun under a large umbrella but only Nina using her position as a lookout point. She is glaring at the water, where Ophelia and her boy are splashing around (with Kana, a somewhat bedraggled Shigure, and an annoyed Dwyer), laughing and having fun. Forrest risks a glance out to see as he picks her up over his shoulder, Ophelia shrieking in surprise and delight. She quickly turns her attention back to Nina, who now has her face buried in her knees. Alright, then.

"Nina," she starts, and her companion jerks her head over to look at her. Her face is flushed, her eyes, surprisingly, watery, and she makes for an altogether pathetic sight. "Nina, you can't just sit around and mope about Ophelia making friends."

"I'm not upset that she's made friends!" and oh, Forrest has been waiting for this—she delicately raises one eyebrow, then lowers her sunglasses so she can give Nina an unconvinced look. It works (which is  _ immensely _ satisfying, since Forrest has been perfecting the single-raised-eyebrow look for years), and Nina shrinks a little. "It's not that she has other friends. She wants to meet new people, fine. But she  _ knew _ I thought those guys were hot and she  _ said _ we'd go talk to them together, and I go to get her her favorite flavor of ice cream and I come back and she's all buddy-buddy with them! How is  _ that _ fair?"

"Nina," she starts, which, in her experience, gives her a chance to gather her thoughts while Nina is under the impression that she's about to drop serious wisdom, "I understand being jealous. Really, I do. Sometimes, things just don't go our way and we miss out on something we really, really want. I even understand why you'd be upset with Ophelia. But the simple fact is, you can't expect her to read your mind. To her, these past few days haven't been you giving her the cold shoulder because you're mad at her. It's been her, meeting people and have a good time, while you're miserable, and she rightfully sees that as your problem." Nina is turned away, head buried in her knees again. "You need to talk to her. You're waiting for an apology, but it will never come because she has no idea that she even has something to apologize for." Another peal of laughter interrupts her—Ophelia is now on the boy's shoulders, trying to knock Kana off Shigure's. Nina's attention snaps to Ophelia again, and Forrest sees her brow furrow.

"Please," she tries, begging Nina to heed her advice, "just talk to her. Sooner, rather than later?"

This, as it turns out, is bad advice.

Ophelia's friend stays for dinner. Afterward, he has to head back out, and Nina, naturally, takes this as the best time to talk to Ophelia.

Which it would've been, if Nina weren't so volatile.

"How is any of this  _ my  _ fault?" Ophelia cries. They're out on the beach for this screaming match, and though their section of the beach is private, everyone is gathered up on the deck to watch this play out. Everyone, that is, with the exception of Forrest, who marched down to the beach to join them and hopefully mediate a bit. Which is going  _ beautifully _ .

"I  _ told _ you I was attracted to those guys! Why would you then go and steal them from me? I  _ thought _ we'd talk to them  _ together _ ."

Ophelia gestures wildly. "I was just trying to loosen things up a little! I thought maybe, if you knew something about them, it'd be easier for you to talk to them!"

"Oh, yeah, that was great! I know  _ so _ much about What's-His-Face!" Given how close to each other they are, Forrest thinks drily, there's really no need for either of them to be talking as loud as they are. Which means, of course, that they are talking as loud as they possibly can, just because they have the ability.

"You would know his  _ name _ if you actually talked to us instead of running off! I was just trying to do you a favor." Ophelia is pointing a finger in Nina's face now, which can only end poorly. Midori's voice is at the back of Forrest's mind, saying  _ It's as easy to bite through the human finger as it is to bite through a carrot! _ , which is very much not helping, and Forrest begins running calculations—how fast could they get Dwyer down here? Fast enough to reattach the finger? Assuming, of course, that Nina doesn't swallow it. Would she swallow it? Even furious, it seems unlikely. Does Ophelia need a finger? How hard is it to live without a pointer finger, anyway?"

"You were doing _me_ a favor?" Good, no biting yet, if Nina is screaming. "I was hanging out with you on _your_ request, because of _your_ _stupid bracelet_!" And Nina, whose anger has been building and whose gaze now lies on Ophelia's pointing finger, does the unthinkable.

She grabs Ophelia's bracelet and yanks, trying to pull it off, but Ophelia, panicking, pulls her arm back to protect it, and Forrest barely has time to place her hands over her mouth and think,  _ No, she made that with her dad, no, the emotional attachment, no, your friendship may never recover _ before the elastic holding the beads together snaps.

Everything goes silent. Even the ocean seems to go still, and Forrest wonders, stupidly, if Nina had managed to stop the whole ocean in her attempt to prevent the inevitable. But Nina doesn't use her powers to stop the bracelet's breaking. She watches, stock still, as beads cascade to the sand, as Ophelia cries out and drops to her knees to gather them, and then she looks at her hand and lets go of the piece of bracelet she's still holding, watching dumbly as they too fall to the ground.

"Ophelia," she says, hoarsely, and Forrest can hear the shock in her voice. "I'm so-"

"Get away from me," Ophelia whispers, staring at the beads she's managed to gather.

'"Ophelia," Nina tries again, this time sounding on the verge of tears.

"Can you just leave me alone?" Ophelia yells, and Nina takes a startled step back, and Forrest can see the tears on Ophelia's cheeks, the shame burning behind Nina's eyes, the thread snapped between the two, possibly irreparable.

Nina takes another step away, then turns and runs back to the house just as Forrest finally regains the ability to move and rushes over to help Ophelia.

\---

Yep, this is bad. Yeah, Nina  _ fucked up _ .

**Author's Note:**

> oof big rip nina  
> ANYWAY for those of you wondering  
> nina: can create sort of "bubbles" that freeze individual objects within them (not freeze like ice, freeze like stop motion completely). there's more to it but that's the general gist  
> ophelia: sort of the traditional harry potter witch, she's got a wand and she can do spells and brew potions and like do astrology n all that. yeah  
> shigure: my dudes got a lot goin on but most importantly their pendant (the same as azuras in-game) can transport them and any other relevant people to a place that they ~need to be in~ when the time comes. its mystical bs so yeah it doesnt make much sense  
> i do have (most...) of the other characters' powers worked out so feel free to ask questions! i know a lot abt this au (like, a lot more than ive written) so chances are if u got questions i got answers!  
> also they're all living at the Institute, which is like a boarding school I guess where they learn how to use their powers and like go on missions and stuff. it might be like what they do in x-men only ive never read x-men so i could be wrong there.  
> honestly any questions/comments u got for me please leave em below! thanks for reading!
> 
> [tumblr!](http://count-of-monte-fucko.tumblr.com/)


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